Identifier: cu31924009876354 (find matches)
Title: The Mississippi
Year: 1882 (1880s)
Authors: Greene, F. V. (Francis Vinton), 1850-1921
Subjects:
Publisher: New York, C. Scribner's Sons
Contributing Library: Cornell University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
ly tenacious, semi-indurated clay,which when cut vertically for roads or other purposes resiststhe action of the weather and retains its vertical sides forgenerations. In such a soil the action of running water insmall streams has, in the course of centuries, resulted in cut-ting the bluff or plateau into deep ravines with remarkablysteep sides, separated by very narrow ridges. The topog-raphy is thus extremely broken and complicated, and is ofsuch a character that no manoeuvres of troops are possibleover it. On the other hand it lends itself admirably to thepurposes of fortification, the narrow ridges having a com-plete command over the deep ravines in front of them, andtheir sinuous course enabling each point to bring a crossfire in front of adjacent points. A careful study of the map is necessary to form even anapproximate idea of the main features of this topography.It will be noticed that from the northeast corner of thetown a ridge runs out to the eastward, on which is the Jack-
Text Appearing After Image:
THE SIEGE AND SURRENDER OF VICKSBURG. 175 son road; about two miles from the outskirts of the town,this ridge meets another ridge, which trends off to the south-west for several miles, following an irregular course, but hav-ing an unbroken crest nearly on the same level all the way.Between the Jackson ridge and this second ridge there is acollection of minor valleys, the drainage of which is finallyunited into Stouts bayou, which empties into the Missis-sippi a few miles lower down, but is here separated from itby another ridge, on which is the Warrenton road. TheConfederate line began on the Warrenton ridge about threemiles south of town, crossed Stouts Bayou, and then folrlowed the ridge without a break for five miles to the Jack-son road. Here the ridge turns to the east and subse-quently to the north and west, reaching the Mississippi atthe point of the bend; but this ridge was considered asgiving too long a development to the line of defence, andfrom the Jackson road the line ran

Note About Images